Yes, there are aspects of The Blacklist that are very similar to those in The Silence of the Lambs. Let’s get that out of the way right away. A wanted criminal surrenders, only to work with a new female FBI agent in the Washington, D.C., area to solve crimes that he might or might not be connected to. James Spader’s character as the criminal, Raymond “Red” Reddington, wants to learn as much as he can about his new “partner,” Elizabeth (Megan Boone), in exchange for the insider knowledge that allows him to stay one step ahead of the FBI. On paper, it appears that all you really need to do to get NBC’s newest show figured out is to swap out the names for Hannibal Lecter and Clarice Starling. The Blacklist, however, foreshadows every twist that occurs, in contrast to The Silence of the Lambs, which kept its audience one step behind Clarice at all times. Reddington was once a bright military prospect who later abandoned his family to sell information to whoever the most lucrative criminal was. After a little more than two decades, Reddington enters FBI headquarters, declares his surrender, and says only Elizabeth Keen can speak with him about information regarding the kidnapping of a general’s daughter. The show does have some humorous moments, and Spader is a pretty good choice for Reddington, but a constant sense of déjà vu drags it down. All the double-crossing and ambiguity of allegiances in The Blacklist eventually sort of stopped mattering.